Monday 20 June 2011

Tapping, venting and porous spiles

Steve shows us how
No - we didn't know what all that was either! Until we went to the Guildford Arms in Edinburgh. The manager, Steve, and his assistant manager Jo, kindly showed us how to get real ales ready for drinking. We both had a go and managed not to mess it up or get ourselves wet. The Guildford Arms is a wonderful old building and they serve many different real ales.

Jo goes first
We had a great time, and also had a beautiful meal there after our efforts. So if you're ever in Edinburgh, pop in and enjoy a glass of real ale and some wonderful food. Many thanks to Steve and Jo for their hospitality.

By the way - a porous spile is what goes into the top of the cask to let air out - so now you know!







We've also had a busy week training this week, running a Personal Licence Holder course for 9 people in Armadale and 2 Licensed Premises Staff courses in Dumfries and Galloway for more than 20 people who are trying to get (back) into work. The good news is that we got 100% pass rate.






Friday 10 June 2011

National Minimum Wage set to rise


National Minimum Wage to rise
Can we ask you a few questions?
  • Do you employ people
  • Do you pay them minimum wage
  • Do you know it's set to rise in October
  • Are you ready for the changes
In October of this year, the National MInimum Wage is set to rise. The main categories are
  • Aged 21 and over £6.08 per hour
  • Aged 18-20 £4.98 per hour
Read the rates for all the categories here

Tuesday 7 June 2011

The way we work

We're currently working with a consultant to help take our business to the next level and we've formalised the things that are important to us into our vision and ethos, so this is what you can expect from us -

Our Vision
Delivering outstanding performance through people
Whether you choose our HR support or any of our training services we can help ensure that all your people issues are dealt with in a way which enhances your organisation.
Our ethos – the way we do things

Enterprising

We are forward thinking and innovative in everything we do, keeping ourselves up to date with the latest thinking in HR practices, employment law and training methodologies. We are proactive with clients, ensuring that we deliver the best service for each individual client.
Balanced
We are balanced in our work, in our decisions and in our lives, whilst recognising the necessity to be adaptable when circumstances dictate. We support each other as a team and ensure we are aware of each other’s needs, circumstances and strengths.
Considerate
We are considerate of each other, of our clients and of our course delegates, recognising differing needs and styles. We listen, we do not judge and we are open to feedback, from clients and each other.
Excellence
We strive for excellence in everything we do from the courses we deliver, to the advice we give, from the smallest detail to the largest project. Our written communication and materials are of the highest quality. We are fully compliant with all awarding body and legislative requirements.
Integrity
We work with clients and within the team, in an open an honest manner, ensuring that all that we say and do is beyond reproach. We are trusted by both clients and team members, alike. We say what we do and do what we say.
Responsible and Accountable
We each take full responsibility for our actions, and ownership of our decisions. We are accountable for our successes and also our areas for development. We recognise that to err is human, and that we and our clients and delegates will develop as a result of learning from mistakes.
Business focused
We ensure that the solutions we propose are commercial, customer focused, pragmatic, practical and cost effective. We do this by knowing our clients well and understanding their business, their issues and their requirements.

Thursday 2 June 2011

Business Mentoring

Both Jo and I are Business Mentors. We do this as a way of giving something back into the business community and we learn as well. I have just spent a great hour with my mentee (we'll call him 'M') talking about recruitment from writing job descriptions to interview techniques. M is in the IT industry and is totally confident and knowledgeable in his own field, but like a lot of business owners, he is less confident when dealing with things like HR which are outside his comfort zone, especially when it is so easy to get things wrong and land in deep water. He now has a lot more tools at his disposal to help him. It takes an hour of my time each month. If you're interested in becoming a business mentor contact Business Mentoring Scotland here. We can recommend it.

Wednesday 1 June 2011

People Solutions achieves a first

We were recently asked to provide a training solution for the Tayside Hotel in Perthshire. One of the priorities was to upskill Kirsty, the Assisant Manager. As a result we delivered the first Advanced Certificate in Licensed Hospitality to be achieved in Scotland via BIIAB the awarding body of BII
Kirsty receives her certificate

Here's a quick snippet of the article:


Kirsty McKeown, Assistant Manager, at the Tayside Hotel in Stanley, Perthshire has become the first person in Scotland to be awarded the BIIAB Advanced Certificate in Licensed Hospitality. This Certificate has a combination of three units which include “Motivating your team”, “Profit and Loss / Budget Control”, and “Understanding your Market”. People Solutions of Glasgow delivered the training programme.

Read the full article here

Welcome to our first ever blog!

Jo and Sue of People Solutions would like to welcome you to our first ever blog. We aim to keep you posted with current employment legislation changes, pertinent development news and anything else in the HR and training fields. 
Call us on 0141 880 9025