training
news & jobs at www.leisureopportunities.co.uk
Reward, applaud…and
reap the benefits
Recognising the hard work of staff will
motivate them to strive for further rewards
W
e're all used to it now. That
word recession. Not so long ago,
the mere mention of recession
made us feel uneasy – we were in
unfamiliar territory. Now, just a few
A visitor at the Natural History Museum's new Darwin Centre months later, it seems almost old-hat to
refer to the "current economic climate".
MLA's lifelong learning pledge
We may not like it, we may not be
comfortable with it, but we are all very
Three new museums join campaign for adult learning
aware of it and to be honest, we'd like
to move on now please.
By Tom Walker Charles Dickens Museum in Sadly, although opinions on when and
central London and the Ragged how the economy will recover vary, it SAM COULSTOCK is
The Museums, Libraries and School Museum in east London. does look as though things are going to customer relation-
Archives Council (MLA) has John Barnes, conservation be tough for a good while yet. It's head ship director at
achieved its target of encourag- and learning director at Historic down and onward, for our businesses Springboard UK.
ing 3,000 individual museums, Royal Palaces said: "Each year and our employees. Leisure Opportu-
libraries and archives to sign around 3 million people visit As the businesses we run and the nites is the official
the Learning Revolution pledge. the palaces we look after – and companies we work for evolve their way recruitment maga-
According to the MLA, every one of those visits is a through the tough times, there have zine for Springboard
signing the pledge commits the learning opportunity." been the inevitable cuts in staffing,
institutions to do "all they can" Culture minister Margaret recruitment freezes and demands for increased productivity. Our
to promote lifelong learning Hodge, added: "It's good to teams have been put under great pressure, yet these very teams
and signals their commitment see the MLA working so closely and the individuals within them are the lifeblood of our
to be at the forefront of with the Department of industry – we stand or fall by the service they deliver, the
providing informal education. Business, Innovation and Skills experience they create, the atmosphere they provide for our
The latest three operators to to ensure that the sector shows customers. Over the last few months we may have asked more of
sign the pledge were the its support and has signed the our teams than ever before, so reward and recognition of the
Historic Royal Palaces, The pledge in such great numbers." efforts our employees make is crucial. The Springboard Awards
for Excellence take place every year to reward and recognise the
best in the business. This year there were over 150 entries across
SkillsActive welcomes Ofsted paper
the 17 categories from companies in the hospitality, leisure,
travel and tourism industries. The quality of entries this year
SkillsActive has welcomed longer accepted for holiday demonstrate the incredible amount of good practice going on
Ofsted's new factsheet on playscheme staffing require- across the industry and the willingness to celebrate it.
standards for play provisions. ments; that inspectors were On 25 November at the InterContinental Park Lane, the
The Regulating play-based criticising facilities for not winners of the Springboard Awards for Excellence will be
provision document inter- planning educationally-based announced. There will be 550 industry figures present to applaud
prets the needs for play- activities; and that some felt the successes of their colleagues and peers. Here is proof of the
based provision and outlines pressurised into rigorously fantastic efforts and achievements that are going on across the
the main areas of concern observing and recording industry and is evidence that the best companies out there are
that employers had when children's activities. keen to applaude and reward their teams and employees for
preparing for inspection. There were also concerns going that extra mile.
The three main areas of that child-initiated, freely For the employer, there's a direct return on this investment of
concern are: that training chosen play was not compat- attention – the employees that receive recognition for their
based on the Playwork ible with the Early Years efforts will go on to strive for yet more. The message is clear – as
Induction Standard was no Foundation Stage. the tough times continue, employers that reward and applaud
their employees achievements will ultimately reap the benefits.
© Cybertrek 2009 Read Leisure Opportunities online www.leisureopportunities.com/digita l 17
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24