People First -Total Solutions Newsletter June/July 2006
People First -Total Solutions is committed to "Effective
People, Better Organisations and Stronger Society"
This newsletter is designed to inform and equip you
personally and professionally. Give yourself time to
check out this issue. Your feedback and comments are
very welcome!
Effective
People:Training for leaders of Volunteers
Linda Graff and Ric Lynch are two of the world's leading
consultants on management of volunteers. In August 2006,
catch one of them "down under" in Australia.
Linda will be presenting "Discipline and Dismissal
of volunteers" in four cities across Australia
while Rick focuses on Effective "Volunteer Management:
Mobilising all your Resources" in six cities.
They are both consistently rated very highly for their
knowledge and presentations. These events are also great
networking opportunities.
Rick and Linda are also faculty at the highly successful
Australasian
Retreat for Advanced Volunteer Management
which will be held in Brisbane, Australia August 29
to 31. Martin J Cowling and Andy Fryar (OzVPM) make
up the remainder of the faculty.
Participants at 2005's retreat described it as the best
training experience of their lives. NB: There are only
18 places left for the retreat.
To find out more or register, click here
Better
Organisations: World Cup Fever 
It has started - World soccer's supreme title - The
FIFA WORLD CUP disputed between nations every four years.
Close to two billion people will watch it live, via
internet or in front of TV during a four-week footy-fest.
How does this impact on organisations? One UK survey
suggested companies could lose around £100 per
head in lost productivity during World Cup. In another,
83 percent of employers said they would get tough on
unauthorised absences or productivity drops.
Many employers fear having exhausted staff coming to
work having been up all night watching a game or finding
their broadband capacity be chewed up by staff viewing
games.
For events such as the World Cup, organisations need
to plan and communicate expectations with paid staff
and /or volunteers. If people feel things are unfair,
they're more likely to take time out, be unmotivated
and unproductive.
It is important that organisations remember that their
aims are more than physical attendance by staff. Some
ways to manage:
- be clear about goals during period
- give projects and goals a footy related theme
- allow some fun on "company time"
- give time off for things people really want to see
- offer flexi working so people can come in or leave earlier or take longer breaks
- manage internet viewing in work place
- ensure volunteers in non-profits understand how to take time out
Its important to remember that not all are interested
in an event. (some cannot abide the World Cup!) so while
encouraging those interested in their events others
need to be assisted so they do not feel left out
Good Luck with your chosen team(s)!
Stronger
Society: About First Book 
People First -Total Solutions are financial supporters
of First Book in the USA, along with
The Smith Family in Australia and Greenfleet.
First Book is an award-winning nonprofit organization
with a single mission: to give children from low-income
families the opportunity to own their first new books.
First Book has provided more than 40 million new books
to children.
Access to books is essential to reading development.
A 2006 study by Susan B. Neuman and David K. Dickinson
indicated only 1 out of 300 children from low-income
families own a book of their own, versus an average
of 13 books per child from middle-income families.
Children served by First Book are found in existing
literacy programs. Support for First Book provides books
to children and strengthens thousands of literacy programs.
To learn more or see how you can assist click here
Martin J Cowling News
April May June Tour
Martin (pictured right in Baton Rouge) has just completed
training and touring in 12 cities across USA, UK and
New Zealand. Thank you to all those who organised the
seminars and workshops. Feedback included:
"the training met all of our goals and more.
You scored some of the highest evaluation marks that
any trainer has ever received and our participants are
already asking when we can have you come again"
(Baton Rouge, LA)
"Martin was a fantastic speaker. Great work
on bringing him in. Time was perfect. Great
mix of group work and presentation. Really left us with
concrete ideas to move forward!" (New York
City)
Arkansas Traveller Award
During presentations at The Summit, in Little Rock,
Martin was presented with the Governor's Arkansas Traveller
Award for services to that state following two very
successful presentations.
Availability
Martin has slots in his calendar during September to
November in Australia, UK, USA and South East Asia.
His specialties are:
- organisational culture
- volunteer management
- personal development
- leadership
- change management
To utilise his knowledge and skills in your locale and check availability, please contact us: pfts@pfts.com.au
Upcoming Training
Martin will be at the National
Conference on Volunteering and Service
in Seattle, June 18 to 20. If you are there, please
come and see him present or visit him at the Energize
booth in the display hall.
Short Takes
1/3
of UK men drink to drown job stress
Study
links sleep loss to weight gain
US
Study finds non-profits not capitalising on valuable
professional skills of their volunteers
Aust study shows 79% of volunteers seek flexible hours
and 28% are aware of conflict between paid and volunteer
staff