Following months of planning and preparation, Focus HR launched its professional training program in October 2020 targeted at the HR community, business owners and managers with people responsibility and after two events, Focus say that they are delighted with its success.
To date, the training has covered the challenging topics of Managing Attendance and Complex Absence and Managing Capability, Conduct and Performance and the response from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive.
Attendees have been from a wide range of sectors and across all levels, from HR Officers and Managers, to Line Managers and Directors, all saying they got a lot of value from attending the courses.
Focus HR Consultant and Training Facilitator, John Ioannou-Droushiotis said: “When putting the training together we were mindful that we wanted to provide high quality training which would cover the more challenging aspects of HR practice, while ensuring the courses were highly engaging and interactive.
“Our aim was to provide courses where attendees could not only enhance their knowledge from a very experienced trainer in Paul Beard, but could utilise their learning in a practical way. One attendee mentioned that they were very pleased with the practical elements of the course. It enabled them to ask questions from the facilitators and actively think about how they could enhance their policies and practices within their organisation”.
The key to the success of the training has been the unique combination of high quality training drawing upon the experience of Paul Beard from ACAS, and the input from the facilitators. Each event has been attended by three Focus facilitators who have assisted and guided the discussions and answered any additional questions the attendees have had to enable collaborative learning. One HR Manager said: “at some training courses you attend, you realise that the others in attendance have similar knowledge as you, which is great in terms of knowing your practice is on the right track, but means you don’t always learn much that is new. The Focus facilitation helps with attendee interaction while being able to draw on their experience and knowledge”.
Focus Director Katie Bellingham (shown in main picture) echoed this. “The benefit of being in the position of working across many clients and industries in Guernsey, is that we have a good understanding of what is happening on the ground and the challenges organisations are facing. The Focus team is also made up of HR Consultants with many years collective experience, from different backgrounds and specialisms, having been Senior HR Managers, involved in the Employment Relations Service and Tribunal, and being former Tribunal Members. We bring this experience to the training sessions to ensure attendees get the best learning outcomes.”
Due to the present travel restrictions, Paul Beard is remotely delivering the training from the UK and this has not hindered the effectiveness of the training, which is made possible by the technology of the Digital Greenhouse. One attendee said, “the connection was great and the screen was so big, it felt like Paul was in the room”.
The Focus On…Training series continues in the new year covering managing grievances, handling investigations and managing disciplinaries. Attendees will learn about the intricacies of these processes and the pitfalls to avoid. The first session on managing grievances is taking place on 15th January 2021 at the Digital Greenhouse.
