RWD Celebrates 100th edition

June 2nd, 2010

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RWD has reached its 100th issue and that deserves a knees-up, so RWD has teamed up with sneaker freaks Royal Elastics who are about to make their mark in the UK, to put on an exclusive, 100 ticket, invite only music event featuring a headline set from Tinie Tempah and more.

Read on to find out how you can join them………………

It’s a celebration b**ches! 100 issues and counting – few thought we’d get here, sheeeeet, even we’re sceptical every month as we sell, write and design away with our dirty noses pressed up against our deadline. But make it we have, and if that isn’t cause for a p**s-up, then frankly we don’t know what is?!?

For the big day we’ve joined forces with the rebel of the sneaker world, Royal Elastics. Founded in 1996 by a pair of teenagers in Sydney, Australia, they set about designing footwear that was secured to your feet with elastic rather than laces. The free spirited, up for a laugh, innovative brand was soon acquired by a larger footwear company, before two dedicated employees rose through the ranks to eventually buy out the company that they loved. This revolution in the hierarchy has continued to support emerging artists, musicians, and all round creative beings, so it made sense that we got together with the like-minded shoe collective for our 100th issue party.

So what’s so special about this event we hear you ask?

Exclusive INVITE ONLY attendance for 100 of our readers at a secret London venue

Headline set from chart-topper and cover-star Tinie Tempah

• Live performances from rising talent Ed Sheeran + more to be announced

DJ sets from BBC 1Xtra’s MistaJam and future superstar DJ Yasmin

All hosted by exciting new comedian Jamie Howard

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning one of 50 pairs of money-can’t buy tickets, is fill out a short style survey before leaving your name and full contact details with us.

Those of you not lucky enough to attend the event can still walk away with a selection of Royal Elastics goodies.

Hopefully see you there. Good luck!

To enter, just click here

http://www.rwdmag.com/2010/05/party100/

 

 

 

New intervention helps deliver robust EIAs

May 25th, 2010

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Skill Boosters is rolling out an innovative new suite of tools to help organisations deliver robust and compliant Equality Impact Assessments.

The programme has been created to meet growing demand from public and private organisations for training which demystifies the process of completing effective EIAs which many perceive as a challenge.

A suite of different delivery formats combines eLearning with DVD, live in-house workshops and trainer led coaching, together with an expert helpline and online surgery.

Equality Impact Assessment is developed in association with Dianna Yach Founder of Ionann Management Consultants Ltd, specialists in Equality and Human Rights consultancy to the public, private and education sectors.

The eLearning content is divided into two modules, using an engaging series of stages and drama scenarios, each accompanied by expert comment and guidance to explain the business benefits of effective and compliant EIAs.

“From our consultancy work, we know that diversity leads and HR managers require an approach that not only simplifies the mechanics of completing EIAs, but also integrates them into other business processes,” says Dianna Yach.

“Our aim is to help build people’s confidence by delivering a solution that serves as a comprehensive guide to what for many can be a challenging and laborious process.

“After taking our course, people will understand how remarkably effective EIAs are as a tool to help benchmark progress in matching their policies’ actual equality outcomes to the intended outcomes.”

Key elements covered by the EIA training include:

• What an EIA is
• How to plan an EIA
• The key legal and policy drivers for EIAs
• The importance and key aspects of stakeholder engagement
• The business benefits of the EIA process

Key benefits of EIA training

• Improving policy development and service delivery
• Ensuring existing policies and services are “reality-checked”
• Ensuring compliance with your legal obligations
• Avoiding unlawful discrimination
• Promoting trust and confidence

Course Overview

Part 1:  Understanding EIAs – A comprehensive overview of the process; the key drivers and benefits, why and who should do it and sign it off; who should be involved and consulted; when it should be done; what needs to be impact assessed; what the criteria are for quality assuring EIAs; monitoring and review processes.

Part 2: Process Development and Screening – This part is designed to enhance understanding of how to conduct an effective EIA. pre-policy development and screening, scoping the EIA; the importance of effective data collecting; involving and consulting relevant stakeholders; assessing impact; action planning, report and sign off; and publication and review.

Delivery formats available
eLearning  – 120 minutes
DVD with self study guide – 30 minutes
Live in-house and public trainer-led workshops – 2 day, 1 day or half day options
Expert helpline and online surgeries

For a free preview email skillboosters@bdpmedia.com

Skill Boosters Presents the Diversity Challenge Live in Hamilton

May 21st, 2010

Diversity Workshop for HR leads scheduled for June 24 in Scotland

We’ve just opened our new offices in Hamilton specifically to service our valued public and private sector clients across Scotland.

 

To mark the occasion, we are presenting a series of complementary Skill Boosters interactive workshops for senior HR professionals, diversity and engagement leads which will tackle key issues around diversity, equality, employee engagement, bullying and harassment and employee well being.

 

Our first workshop, Diversity Challenge Live, takes place on Thursday, June 24. This seminar will investigate new and emerging ways of delivering best practice diversity training to staff against current and new legislation. 

 

The workshop is presented by one of our most experienced equality and diversity consultants, Sally Baker. Sally encourages feedback and interaction between delegates, creating an environment in which problematic situations are discussed and that best practice solutions found.

 

The event takes place at the Holiday Inn Express, Hamilton, from 9:30am - 4:30 pm on June 24.

 
To secure your place, email skillboosters@bdpmedia.com
Skill Boosters (www.skillboosters.com) is one of the UK’s leading providers of Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Human Rights training for the workplace.

Are You Ready For The New Equality Act 2010?

May 19th, 2010

An interactive roundtable symposium, chaired by Dianna Yach BA LLB LLM FCIPD

Tuesday, June 8 from 9am to 11am at BDP Media Group

The arrival of the new Equality Act this autumn puts issues like gender pay and ageism at the top of the employment agenda. The new Act consolidates more than 200 pieces of legislation, codes of practice and EU directives – it simplifies and harmonises, but in doing so, it also expands the agenda.

It removes existing anomalies across those diversity strands over and above race, gender and faith. There is also the emergence of a new language ie the term “diversity strands” is now referred to as Protected Characteristics – and there are 8 that are mentioned.

In addition to these, are new Directives around Equal Pay, Equal Treatment, Pregnant Workers, Race and Employment which put the focus firmly on employers taking Positive Action in terms of their recruitment and employment policies.

The new law levels the field in terms of issues around disability and age discrimination, gender identity protection, pregnancy discrimination and will outlaw gagging clauses that facilitate pay secrecy.
Under the new Act, it will no longer be sufficient to say we have trained our staff and issued a diversity policy.

Experts now will be asking where are the reviews and the audits which reflect where your organisation is with regards to key issues such as age.

So what does success look like and how does your organisation best prepare for the change agenda?

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Chaired by Dianna Yach BA LLB LLM FCIPD, our interactive seminar will address all of the above issues and consider the necessary solutions to reignite initiatives that may have failed and new solutions to facilitate change.
Are You Ready for the new Equality Act 2010? takes place from 9am to 11am on June 8 at BDP Media Group, Aldwych House, 81 Aldwych, London WC2B 4HN.

To book your complementary place, email susannjerry@bdpmedia with your details or call Susann on 020 7492 6925 for further information.

Completing robust EIAs with confidence

May 17th, 2010

A convenient and cost effective solution to meet the EIA challenge

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Equality Impact Assessments are an important and effective business tool, but completing them with confidence is a challenge.

Our brand new EIA eLearning programme demonstrates the fundamental business benefits of effective and compliant EIAs, using an engaging series of stages and drama scenarios, each accompanied by expert comment and guidance.

Equality Impact Assessment has been designed to:

• improve your policy development and service delivery
• ensure that your existing policies and services are “reality-checked”
• ensure compliance with your legal obligations

• help your organisation avoid unlawful discrimination
• build the trust and confidence of your staff

You can reduce your staff training costs with our new eLearning solution which is now available at your convenience, whenever you need it. You can now train 250 people for the equivalent of purchasing a one day workshop for 15 to 20 people.

To order your free EIA preview, simply call the Skill Boosters sales team TODAY + 44 (0)20 7492 6922

Equality Impact Assessment is produced by Skill Boosters in partnership with Dianna Yach, Founder of Ionann Management Consultants Ltd, specialists in Equality and Human Rights consultancy to the public, private and education sectors.

Skill Boosters delivers engaging and inspiring learning solutions in equality and diversity, performance improvement, workplace well being, employee engagement and communications.

T: +44 (0)20 7492 6922
E: skillboosters@bdpmedia.com
www.skillboosters.com

The Engagement Matrix - new free seminar event

May 10th, 2010

 

 

Neil Cassie

This is a year of unprecedented change.

Government departments and agencies are facing significant budget cuts, together with the prospect of working under an imminent new administration.

Which means departments need to find new ways of working which allow them to deliver on the change agenda they all face.

The behaviour of people within the transformational agenda is key. The question is how do leaders and senior managers overcome previously insurmountable barriers that typically paralyse progress towards change on this level and scale?

Employee engagement is now one of the primary measures of performance within organisations. But many organisations are unclear as to what they need to change in order for it to have relevance at a strategic, sustainable level.

Consequently they offer little guidance or support to managers as to how to influence their scores or link employee engagement to improvements in their team’s customer delivery, accountability or performance.

This interactive symposium will consider proven and effective approaches to staff engagement that:

• overcome employee initiative fatigue
• transform employee engagement scores/performance
• align people’s behaviour with vision and values
• promote accountability, collaboration and productivity
• turn managers into authentic leaders and communicators
• accelerate the delivery of critical programmes and promises

Led by Neil Cassie of The Cassie Partnership (tcp), our roundtable symposium will consider the necessary steps to effectively engage staff, whilst delivering higher and perceived benefits to both customers and the business.

The Engagement Matrix takes place on Thursday, May 20 from 9.30 am to 11.30am at BDP Media Group, Aldwych House, 81 Aldwych, London WC2B 4HN.

To book your complementary place, email susannjerry@bdpmedia today with your details or call 020 7492 6925 for further information

tcp delivers proven and measured methodologies and products that deliver sustainable transformation at critical levels throughout an organisation.

 www.thecassiepartnership.com

We need a new Editor for Dads-Space

May 6th, 2010

Calling all journalists.

We are looking for a multi-skilled online content editor for www.dads-space.com to take us into an exciting new period of development. We need a talented and ambitious individual, who is keen to make a name and to support us in our ambition to become the number one website for dads in the UK.

 Who are we looking for?

 -         A visionary and strategic content editor and writer who can build on the Dads Space brand, grow our audience and take the website to the next level

-         Someone with a working knowledge of PR and online marketing who is able to to harness social media to increase traffic

-         A team player who will enjoy working in a diverse work environment and who is sensitive to the concerns of stakeholders

-         A passionate believer in the unique role dads have to play in children’s lives

-         A parent, or someone with editorial experience or expertise in parenting issues

-         An excellent communicator who knows how to engage a wide male audience and make expert contributions accessible and entertaining

-         A connected networker willing to open their contact book, build new partnerships and generate opportunities

-         Someone who thinks beyond the written word and is able to commission/produce video for the web

-         Someone with experience of using content management systems and is ‘hands-on’

 This is a fantastic opportunity for the right person – for your hard work, you will be rewarded with plenty of creative freedom.

 Salary: £30k - 35k per annum, full time,  pro-rata for initially a 10 month contract. We are open to other proposals from the right candidate (e.g. part time/freelance with performance goals).

To apply for this post, please email hr@bdpmedia.com

So just how biased are you?

May 4th, 2010

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Rigorous new research into the root causes of bias and how prejudice can adversely affect business performance has been used to inform a brand new diversity training intervention for the workplace.

Understanding Bias has been developed by Skill Boosters in association with the business psychologist and author Professor Binna Kandola, author of The Value of Difference and creator of  the acclaimed Mirror Programme.

The aim of the new intervention is to help organisations and businesses reignite their diversity initiatives, which experts say have become bogged down in red tape and procedures.

Understanding Bias is designed to improve the quality of decision making and eradicate ingrained organisational biases, and in doing so, deliver a far reaching impact on the performance of any organisation or business.

Commenting on the programme, Professor Binna Kandola said: “Diversity training has stalled. It has been legalised, proceduralised and standardised to the point where it can no longer effect real and lasting organisational change.

“Our work clearly shows that it is unconscious bias that is holding diversity back. So demonstrating a willingness to examine our personal prejudices is integral to understanding the roots of stereotypes and bias in the workplace.

“Getting to grips with unconscious bias is an important and critical step towards creating fair and inclusive workplaces. But first, organisations need to create a climate in which issues of bias can be discussed openly, calmly and rationally. This is what this new intervention is designed to do.”

Understanding Bias uses dynamic, original video to examine how and why people are biased and the impact this has on their relationships, decisions and the wider organisation in general.

It is available either as an online eLearning package, via DVD or as a customised intervention.

How Understanding Bias benefits organisations

Understanding Bias is a comprehensive new tool to help organisations deal with the real business problem of equality and diversity and work towards becoming culturally competent.

The programme is based on evidence that has been garnered from practical work with a range of organisations.

Understanding Bias helps

Raise awareness of bias in people and organisations
­ Examine the impact of prejudice in decision making
­ Demonstrate ways in which organisations can reduce, if not eliminate, bias in decision making
­ Improve the quality of decisions line managers make about staff
­ Reduce persistent inequalities in key processes
­ Introduce fairer decisions in customer facing issues
­ Improve the cultural agility and competency of businesses

Suitable for teams of all types, it has been developed to help people at all levels including operational managers and staff, HR managers and trainers and senior executives and leaders.

The course includes visual illusions which offer a compelling insight into how our brains process information and the shortcuts we take, backed up with research evidence.

Drama led scenarios show how even an organisation that prides itself in “’doing the right thing’” in terms of diversity can still fall under the spell of unconscious bias.
 
Individual scenes look at “pressure points” when bias is more likely to have an impact
including: recruitment, performance review and induction.

Delivery formats available
Video with trainer notes and self study guide
Online access with user booklet

Duration:
Video: 65 minutes
eLearning: 60-75 minutes

To review or order a free preview, please call 0207 492 6922 or email skillboosters@bdpmedia.com

BDP Media Group Opens Scottish Division

April 29th, 2010

We’ve just expanded our footprint with the opening of a new office in Scotland.

 

This new base allows us to better serve our portfolio of public, private sector and third sector clients in Scotland and the North of England and follows the acquisition of a 25 per cent share in the Scottish based learning technology company, MediaCorp Online late last year.

 

Our new Glasgow (Hamilton) centre houses an eight strong learning technology, creative and business development team, including Account Director Peter Burns who joins BDP Media Group from Opal Telecom.

 

BDP Media Group Scotland now represents all four divisions of the Group which includes the dedicated teaching and learning division BDP Learning; creative digital agency Atticmedia; Skill Boosters, which is one of the UK’s leading providers of equality, diversity and performance management eLearning solutions for the workplace; and RWD Creative Media which delivers cross platform youth communications campaigns.

 

Clients can draw on the local expertise of the Scottish team, with the opportunity to access BDP’s knowledge pool of creative, learning design, technical and integrated communications specialists who are based in Central London.

 

Establishing a Glasgow presence for all of our divisions allows us to get as close as possible to our Scottish and Northern clients, deliver real value and find new markets for our diverse portfolio of services.

                            

We currently have in development a series of innovative new products including interventions for front line managers through to Executive Directors to help deliver ambitious strategies aimed at changing behaviours and attitudes at an individual, team and organisational level.

 

Current projects include the roll out of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service national eCPD workforce programme for FE teachers which delivers enhanced learning, the virtual parenting centre Dads Space for the Department for Children, Schools and Families and a range of blended learning solutions for the Home Office.

 

Our address and contact details are

 

BDP Media Group Scotland,

MediaCorp House,
2 Caird Park,
Hamilton,
ML3 0EU
Tel:+44 (0)1698 338 652 or
+44 (0)1698 338 672

Are you ready for the new Equality Act 2010?

April 7th, 2010

The Equality Bill has completed its passage through Parliament and receives Royal Assent in the next few days. 

The new equality legislation presents us with a broad canvas which contains a significant challenge to old traditions, stereotypes and cultures. It demands a more open and transparent approach, a brave new culture which actively celebrates difference.

In this guest blog, BDP Media Group’s equality and diversity affiliate, Dianna Yach of Ioannan Consultants, sums up the implications of the new Act for businesses and organisations.

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“Under the new Act, it will no longer be sufficient to say we have trained our staff and issued an equality and diversity policy. Regulators will now be asking where are the reviews and the audits which reflect where your organisation is with regards to issues such as age and other “protected characteristics” such as disability, gender, gender identity, race, religion or belief or none and sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership.

Organisations with comprehensive outcome-focused equality and diversity strategies, which routinely carry out equality impact assessments of their day to day activities and which have strong reporting and monitoring processes are more likely to be able to evidence good practice under the new order.

Most importantly, the new legislation will demand:

Refreshed committed leadership on equality and diversity by providing inclusive and accessible services by a diverse workforce for increasingly diverse service users and clients.

That equality and diversity is woven into all aspects of your business and you know where you are and where you want to be in relation to risk management, business plans, services, procurement, HR and community involvement.  Robust monitoring and review of recruitment, selection, appraisals, training and development, promotion and staff leavers will help to evidence your progress on equality and diversity in practice.

That your organisation supports community based events to tackle disadvantage and inequality as a socially responsible business.

That your organisation has an Equality and Diversity Action Plan with clear accountabilities for delivery (e.g. clear accountability for delivery of action plan, led by the Board); carrying out equality impact assessments and getting these signed off at a senior level will also give you evidence you have considered equality implications of policies, practices and services.

That your organisation grows its people rather than leaving them to languish or be driven out by the culture.

That you are an employer that strives to reflect diversity at all levels of the organisation e.g. fair, objective and transparent recruitment and selection processes, appraisals, access to staff training and development opportunities, progression and promotion opportunities.

That public bodies have paid “due regard” to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, foster good relations and disabled people have been involved early on in decision making.  Private organisations bidding for contracts with public bodies will also need to demonstrate good equality and diversity practice.”

Dianna Yach is co-founder of Ionann Management Consultants Ltd which was established in 1998. Ionann is a specialist management consultancy working in partnership with clients to achieve excellence in Equality, Diversity and Human Rights.

Dianna is currently working with our workplace training arm, Skill Boosters, to update all of our equality and diversity assets ahead of the new Equality Act. To find out how you can upgrade your assets, email skillboosters@bdpmedia.com.