Q : Please can we be advised of the Christmas close down dates for this year as I would like to get this planned asap. Can we get confirmation of how many days we will need to use and what dates this will be? 23rd and 24th are a Monday and Tuesday will field work these dates? or do we know what’s going to happen?

A: We’re currently working on this and will inform all by the end of March.  Dec 27th, 30th and 31st are mandatory holiday days, with return to work on Jan 2nd.  So, technically, Dec 23rd and 24th are work days.

Q : Hi Team! I really enjoyed yesterday’s company huddle, it was engaging and interactive and had a real positive impact across the board (majority of people I've spoken to mentioned the huddle and how good it was). There were lots of smiles on the call and I felt that everyone was really engaged. Please can we make huddle more interactive as it really made a positive impact. Thank you.

A: Huddle has always been an opportunity to reflect on business performance and make any important business announcements.  Historically, staff have not wanted to engage interactively but it’s good to know that there is renewed interest in doing so and we will consider how best to do so.

Q : Could we consider reducing huddle to once every 2 weeks rather than weekly? The updates are interesting, but it does feel that some weeks there isn't a great deal of content to share. Because its mid-morning it can interrupt the flow of working on a task and it can take some time to get that momentum back.

A: While we appreciate that it can be disruptive to work flow we feel it’s a vital tool to communicate important business matters and we try to keep them short when there isn’t much news to report.  We are a very operational business so there is nearly always something important to communicate, which we like to do both verbally and via the HO newsletter.

Q : In the past we have done awards for field is this something we would ever consider doing for Head Office? I think it would be a nice incentive and give a sense of recognition.

A: We would love to do some sort of recognition awards for HO and have discussed this several times.  Unfortunately, we haven’t found a solution to how to judge everybody on a level playing field so fall back on trying to give recognition when somebody has gone above and beyond their job description.  Suggestions welcome though!

Q : Mental Health First Aid - There is a course available on the subject which consists of 30 questions and you get a certain time to complete it. It is a Nationally certificated level 2 qualification through the NCFE. This course is FREE to anyone living in England only.
It is funded by the SFA which is part of the Education budget. I think that it would be beneficial if Fundraisers, office staff etc get this qualification. I can arrange this through one of my old contacts.

A: Thank you for sending across this suggestion. It is always great to look at new resources and how this can benefit us as a company. Team HR are going to do a review of our Mental Health First Aiders and Responders in the next quarter, so this has timed very well. We will do some further research on the course you have sent over to compare with the previous course we have been using. Thank you!

Q : Last year we had some great social events planned for HO/TM/AM - Jubilee for example. Are there any plans to do anything social as a company this year?

A: We don’t have anything in the diary yet but that does not mean that we won’t be doing anything.  The social aspect of Charity Link is extremely important to us and believe that we get a great benefit out of bringing everyone together in a less formal atmosphere.  So short answer is not yet but watch this space.  Of course, if you have any suggestions on what we could do and when, we would certainly add those to our thinking – and, since it’s unfair for all of the burden to fall on the same few every time, we’d welcome volunteers who would be happy to help with the organisation.

Thanks for all of your input!