Scary Statistic of the Month

In a recent report, what percentage of American employees are currently concerned about their job security?
It's more than you might think! (see below for answer)

Who we are wishing luck to

We want to welcome Bev Kendall to our ever growing team at Nine Dots. Bev has x years experience in x and joins our skills coaching team, ensuring that learners have the best support throughout our funded programmes. Bev’s role will be centred around supporting our learners and guiding them to succeed in the programme and in their careers. We look forward to working with you Bev and wish you the best of luck as a new member of Nine Dots.

What training programme has suddenly become a no-brainer?

In this highly competitive new world we find ourselves in, customer service could be the one thing that separates you from your competition. With many companies facing budgetary cutbacks, we have gone the extra mile to make our private commercially-focused customer service training programme available as an apprenticeship meaning you can claim 95% of the funding needed through the government, costing you £200pp instead of £4,000 for a 15-month programme. If your company has customer-facing employees but doesn't have a customer service training programme, this is a no-brainer!

What course is flying off the shelf at the moment?

Since the world first went into lockdown last year, we have seen a remarkable uptake in organisations now focusing on their employees’ well being and mental health more than ever. We have seen a massive increase in the amount of Mental Health First Aid training that has been requested by our clients and we have found this is the perfect way to support your staff during difficult times and it really shows the appreciation and care you have for them.

How to turn your connections into money

We are currently running an incredible referral scheme which you may have already heard about. If you CC a company into an email to us as an introduction and they go on to use our government-funded apprenticeship programmes, you will receive a £20 Amazon voucher for each learner. It really is as simple as that! So if you know a company that would benefit from any of our apprenticeship programmes, CC them into this email to start turning your connections into money.

What leadership stories are rocking the globe this month?

• Amazon Invests $500K in Workforce Development - an interesting article discussing Amazon’s generous donation to Will County to help fund local workforce development and education initiatives in the community to help battle their nation's staggering unemployment levels.
• Reflections on 2021 L&D Trends Survey - a fascinating report on the impact COVID-19 had on L&D efforts in 2020 and what’s hot and what’s not in 2021.
• Youth Futures Announces Investment of £5million to Tackle Youth Unemployment - a heart-warming insight into Youth Futures Foundation’s mission to improve job outcomes for young people who face disadvantage or discrimination, something which we hope only a limited amount of people are affected by.

What links have been passed around our team's whatsapp?

• Common Remote Management Mistakes - a nice little article from our Daily Dot series that we've put together to talk about the common pitfalls that we see day to day when dealing with organisations.
• How To Build and Retain the Most Important Thing in Your Career - a quick 3-minute audio clip discussing how to build and keep trust with individuals, in your team, and with stakeholders.
• The 3 Sentences Oprah Winfrey Starts Every Meeting with - A great article revealing how Oprah starts every meeting to clarify what needs to be discussed in the meeting and improve focus and productivity.
• How To ‘Future Proof’ Your Job and Career - a statistical look into how the pandemic has affected the workforce and how workers can prepare for the ‘new frontier’.

Where hard work and determination pays off

A huge congratulations to Dianne Brocklehurst who has just been promoted at Nine Dots to Team Leader status! As a Leadership and Management Training company, we recognise the importance of having strong leaders, and we’re very excited to have you on our team, Dianne.

Quick question to consider: When was the last time you considered the structure of your management since the pandemic broke out and undoubtedly changed your organisation? We would love to hear your stories around how you navigated COVID.

Pages we are taking from other people’s books

• “By changing nothing, nothing changes” - Tony Robbins, highlighting the importance of risk-taking and progression.
• “The best companies recognise the value of investing in the right people at the right time” - Earl Nightingale, the godfather of podcasts, recognising the value of timely training.
• “There are no limits to what you can accomplish except the limits you put on your own thinking” - Brian Tracy, commenting on the restrictions we apply to our own blue sky thinking.

What would we like to know from you?

What's the one thing you have done that's had the biggest impact in terms of developing yourself professionally?

(Answer) Scary Statistic of the Month

A report by Mind Edge around the Future of Work found that 53% of survey respondants reported that their employees were very or fairly concerned about their job security. These figures show significant levels of rising concern among employees compared to previous years. What this tells us, is that now has never been a better time to invest in your own career or your employees' skills to make sure the future of their jobs, your organisation and your future is as secure as it can be with the resources that are available to you.