One of my current assignments is to produce an Employee Handbook for a SME.  it's an interesting commission and as we peel back the layers of what they want and what they need it's good to talk through what they really want their employees to know, not just about practical aspects of employment such as pay and rations but the softer issues such as the image the company wants to portray and how the staff can impact on this, both positively and negatively.  It's a fascinating project.

Had a brilliant day yesterday, helping a business to see the real possibilities offered by effective management review of their Quality Management System.  We all came away having expanded our thinking and understanding on just how they could really benefit from the process rather than 'just ticking the box'.  Now I am looking forward to helping them draw together some really useful data to allow them to make some decisions about their policy and objectives for the year ahead.

Loved this graphic which I created to help us focus our discussions:

Zero Waste Scotland has recently launched an awareness campaign, encouraging Scottish businesses to increase their recycling before new regulations come into force on 1 January 2014.  

From that date all organisations will have to recycle their plastic, metal, glass, paper and food or risk being handed a fine. There will  however, be some exemptions, in particular for those in rural areas, with
businesses advised to use the postcode search  tool for more information.

The Scottish Government, in passing the Waste (Scotland) Regulations in May 2012, has also stated that it wants 70% of  waste to be recycled by 2025, and this new awareness campaign is aimed to help  firms with the transition. 

Zero Waste Scotland estimates that Scotland is currently paying nearly £100m in landfill taxes to throw away materials which can be recycled and the current campaign is designed to make businesses think about how they recycle and the savings which could be made.
 

I've just waved my 11 year old daughter off to school.  For the last 8 years I've driven her across town to her school, now she's at Senior School and will walk to the bus stop and catch the bus each day.  I have a lump in my throat but am so proud of her - and as this new era starts I thank God for all the love and fun our daughter brings to our lives.

Just seen the photographs of the actors chosen to 'Christian' and 'Anna'  Gutted, nothing like I imagined them to look like.