Hello PPMA members and friends

Last week Karen Grave and our Joint Apprentice of The Year 2018 winner, Josh Pimm, were invited to join our good friends and supporters from The Guardian on a sailing event to Cowes. A brilliant day was had by all and back on dry land, we caught up with Josh to find out how life has changed for him since winning the competition and also what he got out of the trip and the impact this will have on his immediate professional development.

Josh what has life has been like since you became our joint Apprentice of the Year for 2018?

• Becoming joint apprentice of the year has been such a fantastic opportunity from the start, it has opened doors for me and allowed me to progress my career, it has given me confidence when working and tips that I use in everyday life. I went in not knowing what to expect, an open mind, but the experience has set me up and allowed me to progress faster than I ever thought I would.

What specifically did you learn from the Apprentice of the Year programme and how do you think that will help you in your current work?

• The primary lesson that I took away from the apprentice of the year programme is the subtilties of body language and how powerful it can be, to be able to effectively present it is not only what you say, but how you say it. But there are a host of other skills that have really been developed throughout the program, from leadership and team work to the importance of eye contact and most importantly having confidence. Whether that be with senior leaders in my council or working under pressure with my team towards a goal, remaining calm and confident is key to success.

What was your reaction when you were invited to spend a day with our Platinum Sponsor’s The Guardian?

• When I was first invited to attend The Guardian sponsors sailing day I was unsure whether it was a joke. The opportunity to go sailing in such a beautiful part of the county and the opportunity to meet many other hard working professionals was too good to be true. To my luck it was not a joke and an experience I will hold with me for a long time coming.

We hear you were a whizz at sailing?  What did you enjoy most about that experience in particular and the whole day?

• Having never been sailing before I was unsure what to expect, but I can say I now have a sailing bug and will definitely be getting back to the water and raising the sails. It can be so easy to get caught up in our hectic work lives that coming out on to the open water and the only sounds being the ruffling of the sails and the sea lapping at the boat can be quite a shock. The ability to sit down and chat with people was very refreshing, so much communication is done over email, but this never compares with a face to face talk. And finding out the projects that other professionals and teams are working on is truly exciting stuff.

What will you take back from the day in terms of your immediate development?

• I will need to go sailing more. But more importantly the value of networking, especially for young apprentices like myself networking can seem like a daunting and unnecessary affair. But that could not be further from the truth, it is the networks that are built that will allow you to better yourself, show off your skills to the world, further your career and most importantly create lasting relationships with other likeminded professionals. To bounce ideas in a safe environment and learn from the lessons of others, a helpful hand to guide you towards your goals.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to The Guardian for the fabulous invitation and it’s clear that both Karen and Josh had a valuable and enjoyable day!

Dear PPMA colleagues and friends.

So it’s that time of the year again where we gather and announce our PPMA Annual Excellence in People Management Awards shortlists!  Sponsors, Judges, PPMA Policy Board members and entrants gathered at The Guardian Offices in London to hear who had been shortlisted.

It’s always an important time for reflection and acknowledgment for all the great work being done by HR & OD professionals.  Karen, our VP commented on how thrilled PPMA Policy Board was to see the range of entries this year and how inspiring it is to see entrants from Local and Central Government, Blue Light and Health.  Our members will learn so much from these organisations – sharing best practice is the quickest – and most cost effective way – for our organisations to learn.

You can see all of the shortlisted entrants in the slide presentation below from the day:

We are so looking forward to seeing all of our shortlisted entrants at our Annual Gala Dinner on Thursday April 19^th at Hilton Gateshead, when the winners will be announced. Please don’t forget to book your dinner places – our booking page is here.  We hope you will also join us for conference itself – we have a fantastic, packed agenda with great speakers.  Check out our conference pages

Dear PPMA colleagues and friends.

We’re delighted to introduce Stacey-Rebekka Karlsson as this week’s guest blogger. For those of your who don’t know Stacey-Rebekka Karlsson is Head of Partnerships at the Guardian and founder of the “Women In” series.  She’s worked in Media and Events for 16 years and with the Public Sector for almost 11 of those. When she’s not busy at work, she plays Saxophone in a band made up of Local Government professionals, and is a keen baker! Stacey is writing this week on a subject dear to her heart and one that Caroline in particular, has spoken passionately about before.

Stacey is leading the “Women in” series and here she tells us more about it:

“I started the “Women in” series as a result of my own experiences, and my desire to improve things for others.

It’s crazy to think that only 100 years ago, women weren’t allowed to vote in the UK. Even when they did get the vote in 1918, women had to be over 30 years old to vote. And it was only a couple of years ago that same-sex marriage was legalised in England, Wales and Scotland.

Despite it seeming odd to me that what I would consider to be basic human rights being only so recently legalised in most of the UK, there are plenty of places in the world they aren’t.  Same-sex marriage is still illegal in Northern Ireland for example. We have come a long way, BUT that doesn’t mean  there’s not still lots of work to be done, not just for women – but to ensure equality for everyone.

I’ve worked with the public sector for almost 11 years now. In that time we’ve seen huge change, in most ways apart from, that is, gender equality.  The Guardian’s Public Leaders Network recently reported that according to the Fawcett Society, gender equality in local government will not be achieved until 2065. That is beyond most of our lifetimes, and, quite simply, is not good enough.

By striving for, and achieving gender equality, we’ll also be helping ensure the other pillars of diversity are supported. After all, half of the UK population is female. If we ensure women are treated fairly, there’s a good chance we’ll have a much fairer society.

What’s more, it’s proven that more diverse organisations are more successful. Research by McKinsey looked at the relationship between levels of diversity and company financial performance. The research is based on financial data and leadership demographics compiled from hundreds of organisations and thousands of executives in the  UK, US, Latin America and Canada. They found a positive correlation between more diverse organisations and increased revenue. For example gender-diverse companies were 15% more likely to outperform the national industry median, and ethnically diverse companies were a staggering 35% more likely to outperform their competitors. These are compelling results.

I’ve developed “Women in” as a network for women, by women. The team here at the Guardian have worked tirelessly to create a series of content and events that will challenge, nurture and support women across all sectors and inspire the next generation of female leaders.

And we want you to help us shape the content. Please email in any suggestions, or requests to be involved. And by the way, we also welcome positive support from our male colleagues.  The events are all free for public sector employees. We want to facilitate discussions and debates but we also want to provide a platform for professionals to meet one another, help them build their own networks, so that together we can make the working environment a fairer, more enjoyable, more diverse place for everyone.”

Our next events are

Women in Public Sector Leadership  –  3^rd November in Manchester

Women in Public Sector – 21^st November, also in Manchester

Guardian Pride – March 2018 , a celebration of LGBT+ Professionals, London

To get further information or be involved, please contact women.in@theguardian.com or Stacey-Rebekka.Karlsson@theguardian.com

Stacey-Rebekka Karlsson is Head of Partnerships at the Guardian