PAs on parade

PAs from around the country joined Gareth, Maggie, Faye and others at the third PA weekend ‘boot camp’ – a mixture of PA training, team building and downright fun; compete with a night stop at a ‘secret’ military location with a party and overnight stay in the Officers’ Mess.  The weather was good for the outdoor elements; including how to shake a following driver, and the event was scored highly by attendees.

Miriam Degardo MAPA said: “By the end I was shattered and was glad to be getting back to the office for a break but it was massively stimulating and showed me that I can tackle even the biggest challenge. I doubt many of my colleagues at work would have done any better than me and they regard me as the junior. Something I plan to change.”

Gareth said: “It was a lot of hard work and the input of the military instructors really tested the PAs. Everyone rose to the challenge and got an enormous thrill from the experience. We definitely plan to repeat the event later in the year.”

APA

'Not Bothered' attitude in the workplace

Corporate scandals are eroding trust in senior leaders and will have a damaging impact on employee engagement, warns CIPD. Quarterly Employee Outlook survey reveals a nation of employees who are simply 'not bothered' about their work

Only 36% of workers trust their senior leaders and more than half (58%) of workers display signs of having adopted a 'not bothered' attitude to their work. That's according to the CIPD’s latest quarterly Employee Outlook survey of more than 2,000 employees across the UK, which asks employees a number of questions to gauge their level of engagement in the work place and attitudes to working life.

The survey found that employees who display 'neutral' engagement are about half as likely to go the extra mile with regard to workload and hours than those who are engaged and nearly three times more likely to be looking for a new job. It also found a strong correlation between employee engagement and knowledge of the organisation's core purpose.

Peter Cheese, Chief Executive at the CIPD, comments: "Given the number of examples reported in the media in recent months of unethical behaviours and corrosive cultures overseen by senior leaders, it is perhaps unsurprising to see trust in the workplace eroding.

Gareth Osborne said: “This survey reflects a gut reaction to current media hype. If CIPD are suggesting that either Bob Diamond of Barclays or Nick Buckles of G4S have operated unethically then I think they are not supporting business. In both cases the individual organisations would have been under enormous pressure from government intermediaries to deliver (or give the impression of delivering) and both have been ‘hung-out-to-dry’.

“I would also like to distance PAs from the ‘not bothered’ culture. PAs spend most of their life going the extra mile and their bosses would be even more vulnerable to attack without them helping protect their brand and reputation.”

APA

A sunny training day in London

Yesterday saw the start of another journey towards the much-prized Diploma for a group of talented PAs from London, the East Midlands and Singapore.

On one of the rare sunny days this year the outstanding Melia White House Hotel again played host to Gareth Osborne and the group and provided a superb setting for professional training and a relaxing environment for breaks and lunch.

Gareth said: “The Diploma course continues to be the jewel in our crown and we are puuting on a host of extra dates to satisfy demand. People should always call the training team if they are interested in enrolment and not be fixated by the calendar of published dates; we can accommodate most needs and add extra locations and dates as volumes demand.”

"Many of the published courses for the summer months; especially tfull he Diploma, are technically full but we always try to not disappoint a PA with a lust for learning. and find a solution. With dates for the entry level PA Apprentice course and the specialist PA as a Manager programmes looming people should contact APA now for places on 0800 107 1030 or email training@paprofessional.com.

APA

Pictured (L-R) are: Alison Matthias, Claire Pickford, Aimee Bird, Denise Butts, Lucy Mott (from Singapore) and Janet Evans.

FTSE companies challenged to pay on time

APA has joined other professional bodies in throwing itself behind a new campaign which is calling for all of the UK’s top 100 FTSE companies to sign the PPC. Read more at: http://www.promptpaymentcode.org.uk/

The scheme is part of the wider ‘Be Fair - Pay on Time’ campaign conceived by Debbie Abrahams MP, which asks all firms to pay their suppliers as quickly as possible under the agreed terms and conditions set out at the start of the contract, and without retrospectively changing payment times.

A letter countersigned by a number of leading business organisations, including the Institute of Credit Management (ICM), good friends of APA, has been sent to the UK’s top 100 FTSE companies not already signed up to the PPC, inviting them to show their commitment to pay their accounts on time and help SMEs stay afloat as the country recovers from the recession.
Currently, just a quarter of the FTSE 100 companies have signed up to the voluntary payment code.

Gareth Osborne said: “The Prompt Payment Code is something all large organisations; public and private, should subscribe to. It asks nothing more than to pay suppliers as and when agreed. Sadly still too few of them actually do. They should be leading the way and not mumbling platitudes and shuffling away. There has always been a belief that large organisations should be role models; in terms of professional ethics and morals, modern times have started to suggest otherwise and it’s time they conformed.”

APA always pays invoices on time; or earlier where possible. PAs; especially those in large business, should ask internally if their organisation does the same.

APA