Macdonald’s, Flybe and Network Rail – learn at work

In a nice example of how social responsibility issues can get a firm some excellent free publicity, this morning’s UK news is full of how these three firms have gained accreditation for their in-house training. Part of their management course has been declared to be equivalent to a formal school qualification which counts towards requirements to enter a University course.

Now there are also some critical comments from some sources being reported. Nevertheless, the overwhelming tone of the reporting so far has been positive. And if you were a firm like Macdonalds, whose fast-food-servery jobs have for years been the kind of thing that parents hold up to their children as a deterrent to not doing their homework, then being associated with a real, formally accredited training programme is a marvellous turnaround.

What a great way to attract good-quality staff with a willingness to learn, and keep them longer too.

The diversity of the industries represented in this morning’s news is encouraging. If fast food, rail and air transport firms can make this idea work, could it work in your industry too?

New Blog

Well, here at last is the first Miles Hogarth blog entry. I’m Caroline Hogarth, and I set up Miles Hogarth Ltd in 2006 in order to be able to do more of some of the activities which had particularly caught my interest during the latter part of my 20-odd year career in large multi-national corporations.My focus is on helping firms to deal with the “Social” part of Corporate Social Responsibility. Looking internally, this can mean helping with establishing policies for flexible working or work-life balance. Externally,  an example would be setting up partnerships with local community groups, perhaps to provide volunteers to help with reading in a nearby school, or help with decorating a community centre etc.I “walk the talk” myself. My company provides web support to a local school and I volunteer myself weekly. This has given me insight from both sides, as a volunteer and as someone trying to run a profitable business.It is possible to provide a working environment in which people feel valued, and it is possible to raise the profile of your business as a “good” outfit in your local community.In this blog I will be exploring some ways to make this happen.You can find more information at my website, http://www.mileshogarth.com