Tips for Using Skype for Meetings or Interviews

This week, my blog post about Relationship Dramas can be seen over at Coaching Confidence (click here)

So, instead this guest post was provided by Erin Palmer – a writer and editor with Bisk Education. Erin works with the online programs for prestigious universities such as Villanova University. Erin can be reached on Twitter @Erin_E_Palmer.

 

With much of the public sector facing spending cuts, alternatives need to be explored to remain productive and efficient while staying under the bottom line. Once such tool, video conferencing, is changing the way we do business by reducing travel and training-related expenses. Instead of dealing with mileage reimbursement and hotel bills, video conferencing helps to efficiently use time and energy within a lower budget.

One of the most popular video conferencing services being used is Skype. The software application provides a lot of services including free phone calls to landlines, but its video conferencing feature has grown in popularity. As is with any new endeavor, there are some tips to follow that will make your first (or next) meeting run a little smoother.

Make your environment distraction-free

With so many gadgets and devices floating around your workspace, something is bound to make a noise, light up or pull your attention away from the meeting. Remember that the other individuals participating in the meeting can see you. Remove clutter from your desk, make sure unnecessary electronics are turned off and keep people from coming into the office while conferencing. Be respectful of other’s time.

Dress appropriately

Don’t forget to look professional. Just because you’re not meeting in person doesn’t mean you aren’t making an impression. Dress as if you were actually going into a face-to-face meeting and make sure to do a spot check before you go live. Having a ketchup stain on your shirt or being dressed in pajamas is not appropriate.

Choose the right meeting time

Give careful consideration to the time you schedule the meeting. Too early or too late in the day both have their downfalls (both lend to less interaction from the group as they wake up or are winding down). If you’re working across different time zones, remember to account for the time difference and try to accommodate everyone.

Create specific parameters for the meeting duration

Letting everyone know how long a meeting is going to last will help keep everyone focused and moving forward on the meeting objectives. Be clear on a start time and sign in early, especially if you are running the show. It’s okay if the meeting runs a little long, but don’t keep everyone on if you’re only having a discussion with one individual.

Prepare materials and add contacts beforehand

Being organized before the meeting is very important. Have key statistics or data nearby that you can reference when needed. It is a waste of everyone’s time if you are trying to search for an important number or file while everyone is waiting on you. Moreover, sending an outline or other specific data to attendees beforehand will help to keep the meeting on point. This allows the other participates to generate questions beforehand and makes it easier to get lively participation.

Equally important is getting contact information, ideally before the meeting starts. Include alternative phone numbers should there be a problem with Skype or the connection. Being able to quickly reach other participants in the event of a problem will help salvage meetings and relationships.

Make sure that your speakers/microphones are in working order

It is vital to make sure everything you need for the video conference is working before it starts. Test everything with someone at the office so you know everything sounds and looks good. If you’ll be video conferencing on a regular basis, consider upgrading your microphone, getting a better camera, or buying a headset.

Listen intently

Remember that you’re on camera, so you should be paying close attention and listening to everything happening in the meeting. Be aware of your facial expressions and always be engaged. You’re on camera, so some physical cues like nodding and smiling will let the others know that you’re listening.

Skype and other video conferencing programs can really help the public sector cut down on costs without sacrificing productivity. Using proper meeting etiquette will help make video conferences just as effective and successful as in-house meetings.

These interview tips were provided by Villanova University’s online HR programs. Villanova offers human resources courses in addition to a Master’s Degree in Human Resources that is available 100% online. For more information please visit http://www.VillanovaU.com.

Dr? Mr? or should I just call you by your first name?

Last week I came across some correspondence between a junior HR Manager and a medical Consultant.  What struck me was the informality of the correspondence.  But “informality” does really describe it…it was more boarding on inappropriate and disrespectful.

It took me a while to work out why my gut feelings were telling me that there was something wrong with this correspondence.  And then I realised what it was:  The HR Manager referred to the Doctor and his colleagues by their first names through-out the email exchange, even though they were discussing a serious matter.

Whilst this may not appear to be inappropriate or disrespectful during most email exchanges, in the NHS there is an unwritten ettiquette in how you converse with a Consultant.

Firstly, you make sure that you get the title right.  Never call a Mr a Dr and vice versa.  There’s a simple rule to follow:  Surgeons and O&G consultants (Obstetric and Gynaecology) are Mr.  The rest are Drs.

Secondly, never refer to the Doctor by their first name at the start of a conversation.  Even if they call you and say “Hi, this is Bob”.  You respond “Hello Dr Leonard”.

Out of curiosity, I spoke with the HR Manager in question and asked him why he was so informal.  He replied that he believed that he was as equal as the consultant and therefore all communication should on first name terms.

Whether we like it or not, there is a hierarchy in the NHS.  And the Doctors are higher up in that hierarchy than an HR professional.  And there are many reasons for this, but the two main ones are as follows:

a) to qualify as a doctor and sustain a credible career takes a lot more hard work than becoming an HR Manager.

b) Doctors move around hospitals during their training years.  But when they get appointed as a consultant, they usually stay at that hospital for the rest of their career, unless something significant happens.  They see Chief Execs, Managers, and HR Professionals come and go.  The only other long serving employee is usually their medical secretary (which in itself will deserve another blog post).  Their view and perspective is on the long-term and therefore this influences how they manage their relationships.

It’s not hard to address someone formally at the start of the conversation. It sets the tone.  By showing respect I believe that I am taking one small step towards building good, credible relationships with Consultants.

So I think my HR Manager is wrong.  We aren’t equal and I think it’s delusional to think that we are.

My thoughts on whether I continue this blog

You may have noticed that I haven’t written many blog posts recently.   The reason for this is partly because I was busy in the run-up to Christmas, but I also needed a break from Twitter & blogging, and time to think about how I invest my time.

Naturally, the end of any year is a time to reflect on what you’ve achieved and setting new goals and targets for the New Year.  I’m never very good at setting New Year Resolutions, and usually they are not determined until the  second or third week of January.  I need time for my thoughts to mature before I make the commitment to my resolutions.

December also marks the anniversary for my business.  This last year has been interesting and more successful than previous years.  In brief, it’s been about working hard for shorter periods of time, taking more holidays,  repeat business and diversification.

That last point is particularly important:  in June time I received an unexpected phone call from a Twitter pal.  This phone call has had a significant impact on my business and has enabled me to increase the diversity of my work and type of client I work with beyond any planned goals or targets I would have set at the beginning of last year.

Which has led me to think about the content of this blog. Because whilst the NHS still remains a key client of mine, they are not my only clients. I have also had a number of ex-colleagues  who still work in or with the NHS contact me over the Christmas holidays talking about my blog. Ttheir comments are valued and remind me that there aren’t any other NHS HR bloggers doing what I do: giving the perspective of what it’s like from an operational aspect.

After much deliberation I have decided that will continue to write this blog, as there is still so many quirky little NHS – stories worth sharing.

 

The impact of #N30: a day of action

Maximum disruption.  That’s the purpose of going on strike.    You will  have read the global figures on the impact of the Strike Action on November 30th but I felt it was important to write about the local impact.  Let’s begin with some basics

1.In an average District General Hospital (DGH) they will undertake about 2,000 outpatient appointments per day and 180 elective operations.

2. On an average week day, a DGH will admit about 80 patients through A&E.  On the weekend this will drop to 65.

Based on the above, the staffing levels are determined and bed moves are managed.  The Trust will run its operations tightly.  Any  significant increase in A&E attendances & admissions will be felt across the Trust.  Naturally, weekends have lower staffing levels because of the lower number of potential admissions.   On top of this, every Trust has sophisticated admission prediction tools, and they will increase / decrease elective activity in response to these predictions.   But like the weather, these predictions are sometimes wrong.

Turning to elective operations, the theatre list will be determined by the consultant who is recommending the surgery.   Each surgeon has different views on how their patients should be treated, and consultants do not “swop” or operate on another consultant’s patient except in exceptional circumstances.  The list is drawn up by specialty.  Eg a respiratory consultant will operate on all patients with lung conditions, including those with Cancer.

The same applies for outpatient appointments.  The key difference with outpatient appointments is that a patient may present with a persistent breathing issue [for example] and in the course of the appointment the potential diagnosis of cancer may present.

There were two strike exemptions on November 30th: one was emergencies, the other was cancer.  But as you can see above, it is incredibly difficult to pull out and determine who is a cancer patient on any given day without considerable effort.

Some Trusts treated November 30th November as a Bank Holiday.  Whilst it might be a sensible approach, I’m not sure how they pulled that off. Not withstanding the fact that it was [otherwise] a normal working day in terms of predicted admissions, but also the fact that usually, with planned cancellations, six week’s notice needs to be given.   Six weeks is deemed as the appropriate length of time to arrange cover / re-arrange appointments in a way that is not disruptive to the Trust.

Since the legislation states that strikers do not need to notify their employer before the day that they intend to go on strike, many Trusts had no idea of the true extent of the disruption.  They faced two choices:

1. Continue as normal, assess the situation at 8am on the day, and cancel as appropriate

2. Make cancellations at short-notice.  However, the Trust may find itself in a position where many staff arrive for work, only to find that there is no work to do.

The  impact on patients should not forgotten.  The exemptions were around cancer or emergencies.  But what abut the patient who’s been suffering for years with their leg?  Their routine operation scheduled for the 30th November is going to change their life.  And then it’s cancelled.  Or the patient who didn’t know she had cancer, until she attended an  outpatient appointment and through discussions with her doctor the diagnosis is made?

Other Trusts took the brave [but in my view the only] option to continue as normal.   What was not seen on Wednesday was the considerable work that was done behind the scenes by managers in Trusts to ensure that the hospital continued to run on November 30th.  The same managers who are in the unions that were out to strike.  And this work continues, as Trusts attempt to recover from the Day of Action.  As I said, maximum disruption.

A Tale About An Unemployed 18 Year Old

Let’s call him Jordan.

Jordan’s a clever kid, but he just didn’t enjoy school.  After being expelled from 3 schools, his father home schooled him and he achieved 5 GCSEs grade A or A*.

Jordan then went to college.  He didn’t like it, so he dropped out.

Just after he turned 17 he decided he didn’t like living at home any more.  With the help of social services he moved to new accommodation.

Enjoying his new found freedom, he decided to go back to College.  He enrolled in 4 AS subjects and sat the exams the following summer.     He even enrolled for the second year at College but a couple of months ago decided that it wasn’t working out for him.

Instead, Jordan got himself a job.  It’s not permanent job, but the owner of a local restaurant employs Jordan on an ad hoc basis to be a runner and general dogsbody.  The relationship suits Jordan. He works fairly regularly, but isn’t tied to regular hours.

The thing that Jordan is most proud of is the fact that he’s managed to negotiate a good rate of pay of his work.  At £5 per hour, he’s earning almost twice what most of his fellow co-workers are earning.  Needless to say, this work is “cash in hand”.

Jordan is classified as unemployed.  But he’s happy with his lot.  He’s got his freedom, a bit of cash.  Right now he doesn’t really aspire for anything else in his life.

A Tale About An Unemployed 17 Year Old

Let’s call her Emily.

8 months ago she was successful in being offered a place on an Apprenticeship scheme in an HR department in an NHS Trust.

Emily had a bright outlook on life and took a positive approach to her work. She quickly learnt the role and worked well with her team members. Everybody liked her and she was doing a great job.

In 4 months time, when her apprenticeship ended, the Trust was going to offer her a job in their HR team. In 4 months time she would have some vocational qualifications under her belt.

But Emily decided she didn’t want to work in HR. She wanted to be a Maternity Healthcare Support Worker (MHSW).

So her boss – the HR manager – arranged for her to shadow a Maternity Healthcare worker (MHSW) for a week, instead of coming to work in the HR Department.

The idea was that when a job came up in the next couple of weeks for a MHSW, Emily would be in a great position to be successful in obtaining that role.

On the first day of her shadowing she didn’t turn up. She’d changed her mind over the weekend and didn’t want to be a MHSW.

In fact, she had decided she didn’t want to be an Apprentice at all anymore.

So, her boss – the HR manager – called her to a meeting. She even asked Emily to bring her mum.

They sat and talked about Emily leaving the Apprenticeship Scheme. Emily liked her work, liked the team, but she would not change her mind. She didn’t want to work in HR, she didn’t want to be a MHSW…..and she didn’t know what she wanted to do. All she knew that she did not want to continue on the Apprenticeship scheme. She wasn’t bothered about getting the qualifications. She wasn’t bothered about the almost guaranteed job at the end of it all. In four months time.

Her boss called the Education Provider, who also called a meeting with Emily. But they were unable to change her mind.

So now, Emily is at home. Unemployed. And a statistic.

 

 

A post about why I get out of bed every day

A few weeks ago my husband and I had dinner at my father-in-laws.    During the evening, the conversation turned to a discussion about the fact that when you’re retired you wake up every day and you can decided exactly what you do or don’t want to do.  But the main point was that when you’re retired you don’t HAVE to go to work.

To give you some background, my father-in-law dedicated his life to academia.  He invested in his pension scheme and a few years ago retired at the age of 60.  To say he is enjoying his retirement is an understatement.  He bought a boat, stripped it down and built it back up again.  In the summer, when he isn’t holidaying in Greece for a month, he goes sailing.  In winter, he works on the boat.  He regularly hosts and enjoys cooking fabulous food for his friends.  Needless to say, my father-in-law and his wife have a great social life.

But my argument round that dinner table was that I believed that when I wake up every morning, I am doing exactly what I want to do now.  I’ve worked hard to build my career and now I work as a freelance consultant.  This means that not only do I get to choose what projects I get to work on, I also get to choose how and when I want to take time off work to pursue other activities (like spending the summer in Spain with my kids).

Presently I’m working on 5 projects.  Each one is very different to the next and are interesting and challenging.  I’m not saying that these projects aren’t without frustrations, because they are.  But for me, the frustrations and how I overcome them are part of the learning experience.

A few days later I was participating in a very difficult meeting with some  trade union officials.  I sat there and thought  “I don’t want to be here”.  And with my father-in-laws words from the previous weekend echoing in my mind, I began to think “Why am I here? I don’t need to be here, I could do something else much more enjoyable.”

I must admit I came out of that meeting with a look on my face like “a bag of spanners”.  Two hours after the trade union meeting had finished I was briefing the Director of Operations and the Director of Finance on how the meeting had gone.  I concluded my debrief with some strategic advice – both short and long term as to how they should manage the situation which turned into a very productive debate of the issue.     It was this meeting which turned what potentially was a disastrous day into a good one.

That evening I was listening to a programme on Radio 4 about planning financially for retirement when I had the sudden realisation that I had 30 years of work ahead of me.  At first I felt shock (I don’t know how I’d miscalculated it, but I previously believed I only had 2o years of work ahead of me!) But then a bubble of excitement grew from the pit of my stomach.

I consider myself to be experienced in practicising my profession and I am able to earn a good living as a freelance consultant.  I realised that 30 years would give more experience, more opportunities to learn and hone my craft, to get better at what I love doing.  I was excited about the potential of my future.  

It may be interesting in 30 years for someone to draw attention to this post and ask “Was it all that?”   But to be honest, the answer doesn’t really matter.  I’m enjoying the here and now.



It’s all about the local culture

The other week in one of the #nhssm chats one participant wondered why all Trust’s weren’t approaching a particular topic in the same way.  Forgive me, I can’t remember what we were exactly discussing, but my reaction was along the lines of “but each NHS Trust has its own unique culture, which limits the ability of each Trust adopting a “one-size fits all” approach to x”.

I often forget how much or how little the general public know about how the NHS works.  It’s perhaps because I’ve worked in and alongside the NHS for so long that it’s wonderful, strange and bizarre ways are almost second nature to me.

For example, I’m used to the fact that the monthly timesheets which are manually completed and sent to payroll have a different name in each Trust.  And yes, unless a Trust is very progressive  -  or has been working with the excellent  @Vincelammas – and have fully implemented the costly Electronic Staff Record and thereby using it to its full potential, the monthly timesheets are still completed manually costing millions of pounds in employing payroll staff to input each timesheet, audit it etc etc.  But I digress.

One Trust I have recently started working with has an interesting deadline culture. Every conversation ends with

“What deadline would you like [me] to work to?”.

I like this approach, and deadlines are strictly adhered to.  But it’s unique – and that’s why it has a struck a chord with me.

Although I like to think that I’m consistent in how I practice my profession,  I realised the other day that the way I approach issues depends on the local culture of an NHS Trust.

The HRD of one Trust called me as an issue had arisen regarding a particular topic.  He knew I had knowledge of the subject and would be able to give some sound advice.  I helped prepare a response which used evidence from NHS Employer documents, emails and minutes of meetings.  It was factual and contained timescales.  The HRD was happy with the proposed response and kept me in the loop as the internal discussions continued and the issue was successfully resolved.

Afterwards I sat and reflected – if another HRD from a different Trust I know well had called me with the same question, my response would have been very different.  In this second Trust the politics are subtle. My response would be designed around  managing the audience and focusing on the outcomes  rather than look at the detail.  A different approach, but appropriate for a successful resolution for that Trust.

So it isn’t easy, despite central control and guidance, to ensure that there is consistency in approach across the country, across every NHS provider.  The challenge is to find way to work with the nuances of each different culture when trying to embed a nation-wide initiative.   It also explains why some initiatives or innovative ways of working work in some areas, but not in others.

I think that’s why I enjoy working with the NHS – the local culture is a challenge and brings added complexity to the projects I work on.  Who would want easy or simple?

 

Where do you stand on bullying?

I’ve been talking a lot about bullying recently. It started a few weeks ago when I participated in the weekly Twitter Talk #nhssm on the topic of cyber bullying.

Then a friend of a friend contacted me as they are being bullied at work because (she believes) she’s just agreed a flexible working arrangement so she can support her husband who is having on-going treatment for cancer.

And a BNI colleague called me as his daughter started a new job six weeks ago and is finding the workplace too “aggressive” and wants to leave.

What I found interesting in the #nhssm chat is that one participant was surprised to hear that there was bullying in the NHS.  But it is a fact – as the annual staff survey shows - that there is  bullying the NHS .  (Unfortunately) Bullying within the NHS generates a substantial income for me as I frequently undertake complex investigations into bullying and harassment.

I still remember my first investigation in 2000 – a case of a nurse bullying a patient; I’ve also seen staff-on-staff, managers-on-staff, staff-on-managers. I’ve investigated a fair share of senior Doctor grievances about being bullied.

Last week I met up with Andy for a drink and he started to tell me about recent developments at work. His boss, Darryl, has always had a strained relationship with one of the General Managers, Derren. However, he hadn’t realised how bad until he attended a meeting recently when they were both present. The atmosphere was hostile, the dislike between the two parties tangible. Andy came out of the meeting thinking “What was that about?”

The next day Andy was in an informal 1:1 meeting with one of Derren’s junior managers when he learnt the true extent of the situation. Allegedly, Derren and Darryl fell out about 8 years ago and have never sorted out their differences. Derren however has recently been saying that he believes Darryl is “absolutely useless” and is on a personal mission to drive Darryl out of the organisation. Apparently “everyone” knew about this.

Andy was in shock to hear this, but as he absorbed the information past events that he’d not fully understood now seemed to make perfect sense. For example, over the last two years Derren has actively sabotaged projects and instigated investigations into areas of HR where he felt there was any impropriety. Andy has been an innocent bystander but  has indirectly felt the impact of this behaviour.

Andy was now wondering what he should do.  Like me, he feels quite strongly about bullying & harassment.  Having seen the awful psychological damage it can do, I like to think that I stand up to bullying:  a few months ago I was in a meeting with a client and one of the participants swore a number of times.  Whilst the colourful language was used in jest, it wasn’t appropriate.  In fact, one of the other participants made a passing comment about it as we left the meeting.  I spoke to him about it a few days later when the opportunity was right.

However it’s not as easy as that in Andy’s case.  I’m not going to detail what Andy decided to do after our chat, because everyone deals with such situations differently.  But there were three key things I felt he  needed to think about:

a) his relationship with his boss,

b) his reputation within his organisation,

c) what he might say when he gets to an Employment Tribunal (when, not if).

I don’t think it’s always clear exactly what we, as HR professionals, should do when we see such deep entrenched bullying behaviour.  Striking that balance that ensures Andy maintains his integrity, his professionalism and his job as an HR professional isn’t going to be easy.  I just hope he doesn’t get caught in the cross-fire.

I’m becoming an expert on Zoos…..

I’m becoming a bit of an expert on world Zoos and Aquariums.  Whenever we travel the kids ask to visit the local Zoo/ Aquarium and often it’s one of the best activities of our trip.  I’ve worked out that in the last 18 months we’ve been to 9 different zoos / aquariums not including Whipsnade where we have an annual membership.

You’d think that “a zoo is a zoo”. But it’s not.   Most zoos have the same stock of animals, the difference is in the way that the zoo is designed.

Taronga  Zoo, Sydney is by far the most beautiful.  You arrive by ferry, take the cable car to the top and slowly walk down through the zoo.  As you can imagine, the views are amazing.  But I can’t really remember anything significant about the animals there.

Whereas Amsterdam Zoo was obviously designed in the 1970s.  There’s a lot of concrete.  But they have lots of (warm) indoor spaces: the butterfly house, the underwater sealion viewing area and the monkey house – where you are actually in with the monkeys.  In addition, they have plenty of chairs dotted around the zoo so you can sit, eat lunch and watch the animals.  The penguin area in particular is a good picnic spot.

Barcelona zoo is leafy and shady, which is ideal when visiting during the hottest day of the year.  But the peacocks are overly friendly (one stole a sandwich from my daughter’s hand) and the animals look like they could escape at any time as the fencing doesn’t quite seem high / adequate enough.  The Aquarium in Zaragosa was the same.  I was worried that any minute the crocodiles would start charging, leap and clear the glass fence.  I urged the kids to quickly walk through that particular section.

The closest encounters were at Australia Zoo, just north of Brisbane.  Here you can stroke Koala Bears, feed elephants and many (friendly) animals to roam freely amongst the visitors.  You can feel the spirit of Steve Irwin as you wander around the park.

Of note is the Night Zoo at Singapore.  Admittedly, it’s a gimmick, but looking back I think it’s worth the reputation it has.  It’s well laid out and you actually get to see the animals (at a lot of zoos you spend half of your time just looking at empty cages).

Central Park Zoo remains my favourite. It’s small, but they have worked hard to compensate for this.  Their sealion show is one of the best (better than Barcelona’s and Whipsnades).

I’ve never had a bad experience at a zoo, but obviously there are some that I like more than others.  It’s a matter of personal choice which develops the more I learn about zoos.

I reflected this weekend that the diversity of zoos is similar to the diversity that I see in the NHS.  All hospitals offer the same core services, with some hospitals offering specialised care, such as Cancer or Stroke.   Their buildings can be brand-new as a result of a PFI scheme or they have grown organically from a Victorian building where the first in-patient hospital stood.

It’s easy to think that it’s the newest, the biggest and the most specialised hospital that would give the best care. But that would be superficial.    I find that’s better to dig a bit deeper:  for me I look at the staff survey – where  you can see which hospitals have a healthy staff culture.  And if the staff survey paints a positive picture, I know that I will benefit from a positive experience at  that hospital – both as a patient and as a contractor.

At this point I should be writing a humourous  comment that neatly ties in zoo animals and the NHS….but I can’t think of any.  So if you have any suggestions, please share.