FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Soft Skills Training – Solving the Problem of Increasing Stress and Absence in the Public Sector January 20, 2010 |
There is compelling evidence that suggests that organisations that consistently value and invest in the personal effectiveness of their staff are more likely to meet the increasing challenges of the twenty-first century workplace, including ever increasing levels of stress and absence.
Research reveals the level of stress felt by Public Sector workers is still increasing, with a quarter of public sector workers reporting having taken time off work because of stress. Alarmingly, research has also revealed that more than half of Public Sector employees blame a lack of training for putting them under more stress.
British Market Research Bureau has reported Public Sector workers remain considerably more stressed (56%) than their private sector counterparts (45%). An overwhelming 73% of Public Sector managers say they experience high work related pressure and stress, and one in three feel they are unsupported or unable to report the stress up the line to their manager. This lack of support or knowledge of how to deal with their own stress seemingly has a knock on effect down the line – greater than one in four (26%) Public Sector front line workers say their manager is not supportive when they or their colleagues are stressed.
Tina Halperin, Director at H2 Training & Consultancy says: “These findings suggest that in order for Public Sector organisations to operate efficiently, to reduce absenteeism and to minimise the number of stress related claims, they really need to focus more attention and resources on supporting their managers to deal effectively with the causes and symptoms of stress within their teams.”
Having worked for over 10 years with a wide range of different organisations in the Public Sector, H2 Training and Consultancy is well aware of the need for sustainable improvements in the quality of soft-skills such as people management, time and stress management. “We have seen many tangible benefits to investing in soft-skills training”. These include:
- Creating a dynamic working culture – Team members become better equipped to problem solve in a positive and proactive way and they have the determination to strive for excellence.
- Enabling successful implementation of change - Effective leadership, individual motivation and improved communication brings active involvement, and commitment to planned changes.
- Increasing job satisfaction – Improved communication and an open, dynamic working culture improves overall job satisfaction and genuine commitment.
- Reducing staff turnover - A more satisfied, less stressed workforce is less likely to move on. Salary and other benefits become less important when team members feel respected, appreciated and supported.
- Enabling more efficient meetings - Open and honest communication, and effective facilitation of meetings saves time and improves collaborative problem solving and decision-making.
- Meeting deadlines – More effective communication and negotiation between departments means that objectives are more likely to be met because of increased transparency, trust and rapport.
- Increasing productivity – Through effective leadership, improved motivation and communication, individuals and teams are better equipped to achieve results.
- Saving managerial time - Improved team communication and collaborative problem solving results in fewer conflicts and fewer demands on management time.
- Reducing complaints – Improved collaboration, negotiation and resolution of problems results in fewer grievances, and a reduction in internal and external complaints.
“Any experienced manager looking through the above list would agree that these are all important aspects of a healthy and productive workplace. However, how many Public Sector managers could say that in the past 12 months that they have invested adequate time and resources into improving even a few of these important areas?”
H2 Training & Consultancy are here to help you to do this by offering a wide range of soft-skills training topics and delivery methods with special discounts for the Public Sector – “helping your staff to develop key skills required to deliver a public service fit for the twenty-first century”. They run a regular schedule of popular open courses in Central London as well as offering cost-effective in-house and bespoke courses for any number of participants.
Contact:
Buyers Guide
0191 265 6388
0191 265 3388
info@buyersguide.co.uk
www.buyersguide.co.uk
Company History
Buyers Guide, based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, was established in 1996 and is the leading online directory of UK companies that are targeting the £600 billion in public spending each year. To date, there are over 5,000 company listings in 1,200 categories on the www.buyersguide.co.uk website.
© 1996-2010 Buyersguide